OBERLIN -- A former Oberlin resident might want to hog the spotlight if the Academy Award nominated movie "Beasts of the Southern Wild," takes home an Oscar on Sunday.

Kate Bryant, a 2002 graduate of Oberlin High School, trained the pigs used in the film which is up for four Academy Awards; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

Bryant, a photo re-toucher, had worked on few films before, but had no background in animal handling, she said. And had no idea how critically successful "Beasts of the Southern Wild" would become.

"It's been a really surprising trajectory," she said.

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She described the experience as having a "communal, collective energy" as many of the crew members were friends before the production.

The coming-of-age tale is a fantasy featuring a 6-year-old girl whose bayou community is destroyed by melting ice-caps, that unleashes ancient aurochs and in the process the child learns about courage and love.

In 2006, Bryant obtained a degree in fine art from Connecticut Wesleyan University where she met "Beasts of the Southern Wild" director Benh Zeitlin.

As production continued, Zeitlin gave Bryant the task of training five young black pot-bellied pigs to play the role of the ancient aurochs.

It is usually common for films to employ a professional animal handler for such tasks, Bryant said.

"It was sort of a Hail Mary pass on how they might do the monsters in the movie," she said. "There was not any budget for higher quality special effects, so they asked if I would be interested in trying to do it and I was."

Bryant had to locate pigs that fit the character description and were about the right age.

She moved to New Orleans in 2010 and began training Oliver, when he was 3 weeks old, or "about the size of a large burrito" Bryant said.

"He needed to be kept warm in a heating pad during his first nights and he ate Gerber's baby rice cereal mixed with goat's milk," Bryant said. "He was confined to a pen at first, and then he spent a month as a roommate to other members of the special effects unit, sleeping in bed each night with the same crew member."

After many weeks searching for pigs, Bryant found a woman with four pigs for sale in San Antonio, Texas, which fit the description.

"I got the movie star pig in March and the others in April, and we were shooting in June," she said.

Bryant spent about two or three weeks researching information about training pot-bellied pigs. She said she found numerous books and online pot-bellied pig communities.

"The key to training any animal is to train yourself to give them consistent signals," Bryant said. "You have to always use positive reinforcement with an immediate food reward and no physical discipline that the pig might perceive as a threat."

Oliver was able to walk on a leash, sit, back up, spin around in both directions and stand up on his two hind feet. She also taught him to bow and lay down.

Though admitting she is biased, Bryant said the pigs did a good job.

"They were really good pigs," she said.

Bryant found new owners in New Orleans for three of the pigs and brought two back to Oberlin to temporarily live with her parents, Don and Evelyn Bryant.

"I kept two of them," she said. "They were in my parent's backyard in Oberlin for awhile."

Bryant said she had not met many pigs before, but found them to be smart.

"They were a lot of work," she said.

Bryant won't get to attend the Academy Awards show due to the limited tickets and it is unlikely the pigs will get any time with Oscar. Not that they would care, she said.